It’s estimated that 61% of invoices are paid late due to mistakes. When a client pays late, it can impact your business and make it hard to maintain day-to-day operations.
Since mistakes with invoices are so prevalent, you must work to eliminate them for your business.
Knowing the most common mistakes made is the first step in keeping them from occurring again. Keep reading to learn about common invoicing mistakes and how to avoid them.
- Failing to Specify a Due Date
As a business owner, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is sending an “open invoice.” With this, you don’t outline payment terms or the payment due date.
Some of the vague payment terms that are commonly used include:
- Within X days
- Net 30
- Upon receipt
These terms can be confusing. To avoid confusion, set a payment date. If you use an invoice maker, you will likely see this field – use it to ensure your payment is received on time.
Also, having a set payment date lets you know when it is time to begin the collections process.
- Invoicing Clients Inconsistently
Inconsistence with invoicing may not seem like a big deal. After all, a slight delay or sending them on different dates every month is an easy mistake.
It’s easy to make because dates are different each month.
While this is true, it can cause issues for you and your clients. Unfortunately, your client won’t know what to expect in this situation, which can cause delayed payments.
A solution is to use a calendar and set the invoicing period for a specific date every month. Usually, this will be the last or first day of the month.
Doing this means your clients know when your invoice will come and be ready to make a payment.
- Sending an Invoice to the Wrong Person
Have you ever sent an invoice to someone to discover that it still hasn’t been paid after several days?
You follow up with the client, and they respond by stating they aren’t the right contact.
Now you have wasted time and must begin the entire invoicing process again.
You can tie up loose ends at the start of your professional relationship by finding out who the billing contact is.
- Making It Difficult for Your Clients to Pay
You may do everything with the invoice right, but if you don’t pay a smooth way to let your clients pay, you may not receive payment promptly.
Your entire invoicing process needs to be focused on making the process of invoicing simple.
Avoiding Mistakes with Invoices
To ensure your invoices are paid on time, you must avoid the most common mistakes. Knowing the mistakes with invoices will help you avoid them.
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